Several years ago I attended an all day workshop entitled Buddha’s Brain. Led by Rick Hanson, Ph.D. and based on his best selling book of the same title, it was an all day exploration in using the mind to change the structure of the brain. Rick says our brains are “like Velcro for negative experiences, but Teflon for positive ones.” In other words, because our evolutionary ancestors had to learn quickly from negative experiences—or get eaten—the brain evolved to easily remember things that feel bad.
You can probably do an informal test of this. Think back over your week. What stands out? You might remember a very positive moment, but in all likelihood what didn’t go right comes to mind first. The result—we live inside a constant state of “alert”, or stop ourselves from moving forward because of a past negative experience, or never really enjoy life as the joyful experience is it in this moment.
Rewire your brain for happiness
The good news is that you can use your mind to rewire your brain for happiness, making it Velcro for positive experiences and Teflon for negative ones. You actively engage in positive experiences, embodying the experience and soaking it in for more than 20 seconds. Do this repeatedly and the brain changes incrementally over time. Rick calls this “Taking in the Good”.
Here is a practice you can do. Every evening before bed, when you mind is most receptive, think of a positive fact about yourself. For example, I’m good at listening. Now turn that fact into a positive experience, savor this positive fact for 10-20-30 seconds, feel it in your body. If you get distracted—well I didn’t really listen to my husband that well today—release the distraction or allow it to move to the back of your mind and come back to the positive experience. Sense and intend that the positive experience will soak into you brain and your body.
I learned some new brain science at the workshop, but the biggest gift was the realization of how much I already practice “Taking in the Good” with myself and my clients. We are rewriing our brains for happiness, love, and wisdom. I highly recommend learning more about Rick and his work at www.rickhanson.net.
